Musical-device pneumatic apparatus.



PATENTED JUNE 23, 1908.

R. A. GALLY. MUSICAL DEVICE PNEUMATIC APPARATUS.

APPLICATION FILED MAB. 2, 1908.

lqyentor:

In thea'ccornpanying draw-ii weat rchanges, and 'lnuch air tension foroperation.

ROBERT A. (RALLY, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

- musma'ri navroa 'PNEUMAT'IQ arraaaros.

To 'izfll whom it mayconcern:

it known that I, Ronnn'r A .GALLY, a citizen of the United States,residing at w Bi o'olclyn, New York, have-invented certain 5 new anduseful Ini rovement-s in Musical- Device Pneumatic l pparatus, Ofj.:Wlll(Jll the I Specification of Letters Patent.

Original application filed January 16, 1908, Serial No. 411,118. i 4 v aSerial No. 418,834.

following is a specification, this application being-a division ,ofray-original application No. ftl l llS, filed January 16, 1908;

10 ,The'obwcjt of my invention-is the constifii'c'tidn off simpler andmore direct; acting and fi'ectlv'e' 'pne'uinatic actlon -for musicapparat s, it being especially-adapted in its --gei 1e'1'jal" airange'rnent for use n player-pianos. sjFigurel is a seetional view from thetrcb efend ofjn prieu'rnati action, showing its co' actio'nwit the.piano action; Fig. 2, is 'a plan of the pneu'inatic chest from the.under side. near "for controlling the pneumatic valves vers', stickers,eto between; thiii strikerpneijmatiesand theflkeys, abstracts-or wiprens', ausin 'xloss .ofpower by friction, lia- *bility of, rattling-orstiekin from -wear and g other- 0f getting outof regulation, even to theextentof inter feri-ng with the correct regulation for nranualperformance, while the few designs avoiding thecomplicated, connectionshave had their 35 power -pn'eumatics directly cngagin the ab stracts atthe opening ends of tie pneun1atics,"therehy failingto'obtain anyincrease .Qf levjei-a gc such as is requisite for a lirni Hench-"of thenotes and areasonahly low Also, the windways connecting the valves andpneumatics have usu'alljbeen somewhat tortuous, eaus, ingfrictional-loss of power, and, slowness of e of upper. board; and Fig;3-

20 theitro'b le end, the bottom board of; said'ac speech, except when anumlcsirablyhigh air iXBIlSlOIl-"WILS employed. l-ovcrco ne these faultsin'tlie following simple, sy working,

and economical Manners-e.

'- place my strikenpneuhratios I iii liori zontal' row s; .(pnv-ferablythree), jwith their 60 Mater als ifacingto the front of tlrcjpianoo-rother, nstruimin't, the, =nioving-board 2 of ear! I prr'eunnt-ticbeingat the top of each with rt sshingg 3 at. the rear, andonytop .ofthe moving-hoard 2 is fastene "alt Patented June 23, 1908. Divided andthis application filed March 2, I908.

heel-lever ,4 extending to the rear of .the pneumatic and having itsrear end felted and resting up against a lug 5 fast on the abstract 6 ofthat particular tone-producing action, the heel-lever 4 reversing thedownward stroke of pneumatic 1 to 'anupward lift on the lug 5 andabstract 6 to actuate it. lugs 5 are preferablyupward] curved at theirfront lower, corhers to faci 'tate replacing of the pneumatic-action. As:the abcontact face of lug 5 and lever 4 somewhat fiwhich wou dcoincide. with .the hinge 3, thereby securing-a small forward movementof the contact end of lever 4-approximating any friction. I 1

l he weight-of a pneumaticof the-present structure .always causes thecontact end of its lever 4 torise to contact with lug .5,thereypreventing any racing or thumping during pe a n, 25 Most playebpianoshave used various-lei To insure an enact and perinanent limitation ofthe rise of" the abstract fi at the correct point required by thetone-producing each lug. 5 of the middle row of lugs, that row havinglugs to every abstract, although the other rows need only have lugs toevery third note to which the pneuinatics of that row correspondj 'lhcscchecks 7 are held by a mill; carried by pro uprights 10 which rise at t1e rear of the ab stracts from the swing-rail '11. The checks 7 can beaccurately adjusted to the exact rise of. the abstracts wl'icri the keysand ac- 'tionare regulated while the pneumatic action is out of theinstrument, and the pneuinatic lovers 4 will self-level themselvesthereto as already described, and'the pneuinent in both directions, anexact operation of the abstract and its action will always be certain,and no danger of the penumatics llost motion to the abstracts. The tubes12' are carried longitudinally between-the horizontal rows of 41pWardlyt'o" the tracker-bar t irough the open spaces where the breaks ofthe scale occur.-

' A piano-action has its hammers carefully stracts of pianos usuallyhave asinall forward movement when they. rise, I position above thatright angle-line from the abstract that of lug 5 of abstract 6 therebyavoiding 4 action, 1 place a regulating check 7- aboveinatios 1 having apossible surplus move-- and-their levers ever crowding to, or havingneurnatics and s 9 screwed into .egztensioncr' graded weight fromheavy'ones at the bass up, to much smaller ones at the high treble, toinsure a pro er ,stroke on the strings'of varied sizes an tensions tosecure tones throughout the scale;

Piano sel -playing'd evices have heretofore had'allthe'strikerpneum'atics'of the scale of one size'and similai" leverage,producing an unbalanced musical eflect, the treble notes overloud-forsoft basses "and the basses lost.

when" the treble" very soft. The lpneu-I maticsiherein sho' are ded downfi'om bass-to treble-as to their e th, width, and

leverage, thus effeotinga pe ectly'balanced musical result, even to agreat extent producing a selection of melody from accompaniment inangfxart of the scale without y selecting devices or diany special melvisionsof' scale. the chamber at the heel of the'pneumatic' re 'uires'to be wider at the treble than itjs possible to have the bellowsportion, the 'lat r is made narrower than its for-:the' tre le notes.-The controlling valves-as 13-are' also graded -in size to 'ai properstroke and-their controlling pneumizespaceand g p The novel generalarrangement of the chests, neumatics and levers relative to theabstracts and keys has been shown in my moving-board. having one-meantthereby.

prior application #409,473,-but not being claimab e there'in was thenreserved forfuture application, the present one being the L What Iclaimas my invention is: 1 A manual-kc board,'vertical abstracts abovethe rcarlen s of the keys, and hinged horizontal strikerneumatics abovesaid keys, each neumatic having its openin 'end facing to't e front ofthe keys and moving" board striking downwardlyfsaid" its a hinge and anextension or lever iixe I extending rcarwardlyoffits hinge totheabstract, and engag'ing means between said lever and abstract.

'2. .A manual ke board, vertical abstracts above the rear end horizontalstriker-Pneumatics above said keys, each neumatlc having its opening endfacing to the front o'f'the keys and with its moving boardstrik'iiigdownwardly, said moving-hoard having a hinge and-an ex tensionor bver fixed with said board and extending r arwardly of its hinge tothe ab stract, and a luglixed to said abstract and engaged by saidlever.

3.,.Afmanual kc board, verticalabstracts abovethe rear en s of the keys,and hinged horizontal striker-prieumatics -above"said keys, eachpneumatic having-its opening-end facing tothe front of .the keys andwith its moving board striking downwardly, said moving-board having ahinge andan extension or lever arm fixed with said 'board' and extending rear-wardly of its hinge'to the desirable matics 14, 15,aresimila'rlygraded to'ec'onowith said board and s' of-the keys, andhinged' "vice having stri abstract, and a lug fixed to said abstract andenfiaged by said lever, said lug Gfirved upwarr y and forwardly atitslower front corner.

4. A manual ke boar'd,'vertical abstracts above the rear end; of thekeys and having a slightly forward movement during their upward stroke,horizontal downwardly strikmg strikerneumatics witha rearward hinge,.'all above said keys, the moving-board of each pneumatic havin a'rename-ex: engaging meansbetween said lever .arm and abstract, the saidhinge: being lower. than the engagement tension or; lever arm, an

point 10f thc lever with the abstract.

5. A11\"upwardlyactin vertical abstract, a downwardly acting,1orizontal, hinged striker-pneumatic with a rearwardly extend-5' ingreverse lever arm, and engaging-meansbetween the rear end of saidleverand said abstract the wei ht, of theidownwardly mpvi part of saineumaticibein eater than? P ea 6 upwardly acting; vertical abstract, adownwardly actin at of the lever arm to raise'thelever im contact withthefengaging-means. r 10:: 5

9.0 orizontahzs hinged striker-pneumaticwit r a rearwardly cxtendmgreverse .lever arm, ,and engaging means. between the rear end SMLl.lever arm andi- Tim-a3 i. "9 7. A piano-actuating pneumatic action: a.

said abstract.

havingseveralsuperimposed horizontal rows wise of .and between said'rowsof pneumatofl' prieumzitica, and .controll ing tubes con--" nectedtherewith, said tubes .carriedjlength ecg ice and passingupwards at. the wide spaces corresponding the breaks of. t he piano-'2 scale;

' 8 21A player-piano pneumatic action having several su crimposedhorizontal rows of pneumatics a ove the he s and with their. open endsfacing forward y, a tracker, and

controlling tubes carried lengthwise of andbetween said rows, one end ofeach tube connected to its'eorrcsponding pneumatic, and the otherend'continued upwardly to the tracker. I

9. An auto-pneumatic piano playing dcvicc having strikerneumatics variedin area from'hass to tre ale of the'scalc.

10. 'An auto;pneumatic piano playing device having striker-pneul llatirs varied in length from bass to treble of the scale. 1.

. :11. An auto-pneumatic piano playingdevibe having striker-pneumaticsvariedein,

width from. bass to treble of .thescale.

er-pneumatics' and str kerleve'rs,'. the leverage of the pncumatics andtheir levers to treble'of t '13. A

e scale.

neumatic action having a row of -12.' Anautoipe'umatic piano playing at;

permanently varied from Miss W bellows s lapcd pncuniatics each with arearwardly extending heel part and all 'saidheelparts o f a similarwidth, thebellows parts of the bass neumatics being the same widthpneumatics the said neumatics varied in as their heel parts, and thebellows parts of area from bass to treb e of the scale. the trebleneumatics being narrower than 17. An auto-pneumatic iano playing de- 15their heels. vice having note controlling valves, and

5 14. ;A bellows-shaped pneumatichavinga pneumatics actuating saidvalves, both rearwardly extending heel part wider than valves andneum-aties varied in size from the begglws part. 1 bass to treb c. ofthe scale. 15. auto pneumatic piano p ayin action having notecon'trollimvalves graded R6131 GALLY' 10 in size from bass to treble o? the s' ale.Witnesses:

l6. .An-auto-pneumatic piano playing de- SM. G'ALLY,

vice having note-valves and controlling MARY A. GALLY.

